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Summary

US honeybee deaths hit a record high, with beekeepers losing over 60% of colonies this winter.

The crisis threatens pollination of key crops and has led to financial ruin for many beekeepers. Scientists cite climate change, habitat loss, pesticide use, varroa mites, and poor handling as potential causes.

The USDA is investigating the latest losses, but Trump-era staff cuts have slowed research, prompting Cornell University to assist.

Despite increased colony numbers from rising beekeeper interest, loss rates continue to surge, endangering agriculture and ecosystems.

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[-] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 87 points 1 year ago

Huh, maybe valuing profit over everything else has its drawbacks after all?

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 37 points 1 year ago

What are you, some kind of socialist? Report for deportation to El Salvador to the nearest ICE office immediately!

[-] yoshman@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago

What a commie pinko thing for that guy to say.

Now, may we all bow our heads and pray. The dollar, the stock, and the crypto spirit.

[-] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 9 points 1 year ago

I'm sorry, I'm on the wrong continent. And I won't travel to the US even if you gave me a pile of money.

Or to El Salvador.

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

What country are you in? I'll put it on the annexation list, right after Canada and Greenland.

[-] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 year ago

Center of Europe, it'll take a while.

[-] los0220@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

The annexation might be coming from the other side, then. US has also friends, you know

[-] RonnyZittledong@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

The environment is just for liberal cucks

[-] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 year ago

And for beavers. Are you a beaver or a cuck?

[-] duckworthy36@lemm.ee 64 points 1 year ago

It’s definitely pesticide. Plus a lack of plant diversity. If farmers focused on building strips of natives bordering their fields honeybees wouldn’t even be necessary. Honeybees are an invasive species in the US. There are thousands of amazing American bee species that would pollinate our crops if we leave a little room for them, and stopped using pesticides and herbicides everywhere, all they need is a small amount of habitat.

Where I live, in a very large city, there is a ban on roundup and we have no issues with a lack of bees, as long as there’s not acres of lawn.

I’m an ecologist and I used to work at a botanical garden. we had a bee researcher who found 120 species of native bees, plus tons of wild honeybee colonies breaking off new ones every year. He believed it was the plant diversity in the gardens that contributed to the number of species.

[-] curiousaur@reddthat.com 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I agree. I fear the conclusion is being actively surpressed because we can't afford to stop using the pesticides.

[-] Manifish_Destiny@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

Well we're going to quickly end up with no alternative.

[-] alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

Light pollution is also a big contributor

[-] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It seems like most people these days have lights mounted on their house that shine all night long, or turn on automatically every time something moves outside. My boyfriend thinks those are a good idea, but so far I've managed to talk him out of it.

[-] alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago

People are afraid of the dark, and the more they chase it away the more afraid they become.

[-] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

IIRC, there was a study a few years ago that basically shrieked "IT'S THE NEONICOTINOIDS, IDIOT", and the response seems to have been "well, yes, but we make money selling that, so find something else to blame, dumbass."

I'm in central California and our insect populations have cratered HARD. Used to be that you couldn't drive east-west across the San Joaquin valley without getting the front of your car called in bugs; it hasn't been a problem at all for about two years now. I've seen probably a 95% decline in butterflies and bee-like insects; that is, I see about 1/20th of the butterflies I used to. This is deeply worrying. I had a dude come and offer to flush my lawn with pesticide to get all of the bugs out of it, and I took a moment to calmly talk to him about how he's contributing to complete ecological collapse.

[-] Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

The specific study I remember was that the Neonicotinoids weren't outright killing them, but weakening them enough for a virus transmitted by a mite would. Not that I don't think this class of pesticide should be restricted or outright banned, one simple solution is to not spray during bloom. They also found the beta acids from hops would repel or kill the mites that transmitted the virus.

[-] SkavarSharraddas@gehirneimer.de 23 points 1 year ago

Scientists cite climate change, habitat loss, pesticide use, varroa mites, and poor handling as potential causes.

Probably there's not one main cause, it's all of those and possibly more "small" causes that all need action to counter them.

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Was personally just looking around and thinking "Where the fuck are all the bees?". They're normally extremely active in my area this time of year, and am devastated to hear this.

[-] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 1 year ago

You should plant some native wildflowers if you can. Especially purple and blue ones (bees see purple the best, much like humans see red).

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

We have that, but I feel like we just actual numbers to combat the colony collapses at this point.

[-] Drusas@fedia.io 2 points 1 year ago

I don't know what bees are native to your area, but you could help them out by buying some baby bees in their cocoons and releasing them when appropriate. For me in the Pacific Northwest, it's mason bees in the spring and leafcutter bees in the summer. I've got a couple little bee houses with tubes for them to nest in. And the tiny baby bees are adorable.

[-] Wahots@pawb.social 9 points 1 year ago

I'm guessing pesticide usage is probably killing a lot more bugs than we realize. Bees are one of a number of pollinators. Wasps, moths, bats, hummingbirds, and other creatures also play a role.

Between destruction of habitat, overuse of pesticides, and climate change making things hotter/drier/easier for diseases to spread, I think those are probably the main factors.

[-] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 2 points 1 year ago

It's difficult to find a pesticide, even one intended for casual gardeners, that doesn't advertise that it kills hundreds of different types of insects.

[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Pesticides and climate destruction?

Waiting for the next headline to have "Experts suggest" this.

[-] SolidShake@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

While half of america is like "saving bees is tax dollar fraud. Kill the bees!"

It's burnout. They see the headlines everyday, and the flowers just don't seem as bright as they used to.

[-] antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 year ago

The bees were just lazy and couldn’t pull themselves up by their bootstraps. The survivors will surely be stronger.

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[-] afronaut@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 year ago

I got hella bees that come and pollinate these holly shrubs in my backyard

[-] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 1 year ago

Fucking holly. Spreads like a weed where I live.

[-] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

that is fine, Trump orders retracting word pesticides from every article, done.

this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2025
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